... Last time around, "News Staff" offered some tie-together insights on why we might expect lighting to find itself at as the eyes and ears of the IoT. Makes sense. It has a good view of the space, constant electricity (and if not, it's a pretty correctable decision), and we're... Read
the editorial... (or permalink is here)

The
opportunities presented by the increasing rapid adoption of high brightness LEDs,
in all their forms and applications, represents nothing short of a "digital
revolution" for a previously "analog" world. LEDs are having a
substantial disruptive effect on a number of established technologies, and where
there is disruption, there is an intense need for information.

LIGHTimes Online is here to serve the information needs of the LED industry
supply chain, as well as integrators and non-architectural application solution
providers with technology, product and market news updates for these rapidly evolving
devices. Our readership also includes LED packagers, technology enablers and service
companies seeking the the answers to how best to meet their customers' needs.

SSL
is booming and the 2011/2012 Summit Series is coming back to keep the message
on quality

Launched in 2008, the SSL
Summit will bring the quality story to New York City in October 2011, and
then back to LA in March 2012. At every one of the Summit events, the feedback
remains consistent: Just what we need, do it again soon. The Summit brings together
lighting decision makers with industry thought leaders, pioneers, and innovators
from the across the solid state lighting eco-system.

Continuing the tradition, 2011/2012 will continue
to be all about quality, quality, quality.Showcase
participants and sponsors are vetted to separate the wheat from the chaff
(have your IES LM-79 test reports ready!). Last year's event in NYC included
representatives of over 100 million square feet of developed property, and the
one thing we don't want to leave out for 2011 is you! Look into the series information
at www.SSLsummit.com for the details.
Sponsorships are available for the full series.

Sharp Eyes Closing LED Production Factory as Part of Restructuring

March 3, 2015...Sharp Electronics Inc. has suffered stiff competition in the electronics
market. Severe losses have plagued the company especially in its LCD display
and solar panel businesses. As a key part of its restructuring plan, Sharp
electronics reportedly plans to reorganize electronic component manufacturing,
according to an article
in Nikkei.com.

Among the planned business changes, Sharp intends to close the Mihara plant
that makes LEDs. While the decision to close the LED production facility is not
final, such a shut down would be the company's first closing of a major factory
in Japan.

Other businesses such as LCD displays and solar panels, have faced stiff
competition. Other potential restructuring measures could include exiting or
selling the company's solar panel business, and closing four electronic
component plants in Fukuyama.

Iowa Cubs to get Daktronics Display at Their Home FieldLIGHTimes News Staff

February 26, 2015...The Iowa Cubs, a triple-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs, has selected
Daktronics to design, manufacture and install a new LED video display for
Principal Park in Des Moines, Iowa. The new display will have 15HD pixel
layout. In addition to clear, crisp imagery and deep contrast, the display
features wide-angle visibility so every seat can see the best picture. The
display, which incorporates robust environmental protection for outdoor use,
will measure about 24 feet high by 62.5 feet wide.

"Our new state-of-the-art Daktronics video board will be able to do
everything but a backward somersault, pike position," said Iowa Cubs
principal owner Michael Gartner. "It will provide more information and more
excitement for our fans. They're going to love it."

The displays employ variable content zoning, which allows for one large
image or multiple zones to show any combination of live video, instant replays,
statistics, scoring information, animations, graphics, and sponsor messages.

"We're proud to be involved with this significant upgrade for Iowa Cubs
baseball at Principal Park," said Matt Warnke, Daktronics sales
representative. "The confidence the Iowa Cubs have shown by selecting
Daktronics says a lot about our industry-proven, high-quality product. We're
excited to be a part of this and we are looking forward to the first game
showcasing the new display."

Daktronics will also include its Show Control System with this
installation. This system grants a combination of display control software,
video processing, data integration and playback hardware for user-friendly
production.

February 26, 2015...Royal Philips of Amsterdam in the Netherlands, has completed the upgrade of
10 ships for Costa Cruises. Over 300,000 Philips LED lights were installed,
reducing the energy required to power the ships lighting by 60%. Aboard ships,
diesel motors generate all of the electricity. According to Philips, the
lighting renovation across 10 ships enables total annual savings of 30,000
tonnes in CO2 emissions. The switch to energy efficient LED technology is the
latest step towards Costa Cruises’ goal to slash its CO2emissions
according to targets it set out in its Sustainability Report published in
2014.

Stefania Lallai, Costa Cruises Sustainability Director, commented,
“This initiative between two companies engaged in providing solutions
for the mitigation of the impact on the environment represents another step
forward by Costa Cruises in the field of sustainability. The lighting project
with Philips is an important initiative undertaken to lower the CO2 impact
generated by our fleet and to reduce energy consumption on
board.”

Philips pointed out that its MasterLED spots and CoreProLED tubes, which
were installed on the cruise ships, emit excellent quality white light that
does not irritate or tire the eyes. Moreover, the LED lighting lasts longer (up
to 40,000 hours.

Back in 2013, Philips completed the relamping of three ships. The lighting
of the remaining seven ships completely upgraded by December 2014. Philips is
taking part in the LED lighting renovation of Costa Cruises’ headquarters
in Genoa, Italy.

“Travel by sea already has the lowest carbon footprint compared to
other forms of transport in the wider tourism industry,’’ said
Nicola Kimm, head of sustainability for Philips Lighting.
‘’Think of cruise ships as self-contained mini floating cities,
powered by their own energy supply. Switching from 50 Watt bulbs to 7 Watt LED
technology increases energy efficiency by more than halving each ship’s
electricity consumption required for lighting.’’

February 24, 2015...ONCE Innovations (ONCE), an agricultural and horticultural lighting company,
has begun licensing its technology after the company recently filed its 100th
patent application. The company currently has 26 issued patents worldwide
including patents related to agriculture, horticulture, and lighting.

The licensing program is not for just the patents related to agriculture and
horticulture, but also those related to lighting.

ONCE CEO Zdenko Grajcar said, “We are not just another LED
company. We are in the agricultural lighting business with a mission to help
growers produce more food at lower costs. Our core focus in on the research in
areas of animal and plant photobiology and related optogenetics. We feel
leveraging our research findings in specialized, biologically adjusted lighting
has huge potential in agricultural markets.”

The company has hired law firm, Vincent and Elkins (V&E) LLC, to be
their legal counsel related to licensing of Once Innovation's patents.

“ONCE technology is designed from the ground up, based on
fundamentally new understandings of what connects living organisms to light.
Our patent program is based on the investment of significant capital into
research and development. Filing our 100th active patent application is an
important accomplishment reflecting the company's ongoing attention to
innovation and a candid testament to the outstanding achievements of our
R&D team,” commented Joe Hoffman, ONCE General Counsel.

Mr. Grajcar noted that several companies have approached ONCE in recent
months inquiring about licensing the company's proprietary line voltage LED (AC
LED) and color shift technology outside of agriculture markets.

Everlight Anticipates Growth in Part Driven by LEDs for Automobiles

February 24, 2015...Everlight Electronics chairman Robert Yeh said he expects revenue to grow
this year compared to last year’s NT$30.61 billion (US$967.75 million).
Yeh indicated that the growth would come from rising demand for LED lighting
from business segments including automobiles, according to a Taipei
Timesarticle.

Yeh said that Everlight plans gradually shift its focus away from its
own-brand fluorescent LED tubes and LED bulbs because of increased price
competition. He said the company will shift its focus more toward outdoor LED
display products and commercial lighting applications. He noted that the
company's commercial lighting and outdoor LED display segments would also face
competition from Chinese producers, but Everlight would improve the designs of
its commercial lighting and outdoor LED display products to enhance their
competitiveness.

Yeh said he was optimistic about the near future of the market for LED
applications for automobiles.“I foresee demand for automotive LED
applications rising rapidly, so Everlight will put more resources in its
automotive LED applications segment,” Yeh said in the Taipei
Times article.

Automotive LED products account for less than 5 percent of Everlight’s
total current revenue. The company's lighting and backlight segments make up
about 40 percent, the company noted.

February 24, 2015...The Edison Awards has named QD Vision, Inc., of Lexington, Massachusetts, a
manufacturer of quantum dot solutions for displays, a 2015 Award Finalist. The
renowned awards, which Thomas Edison’s persistence and inventiveness
inspired, recognize ingenuity, innovation, and creativity in products
worldwide. More than 3,000 academics and senior business executives across the
country judge the Edison Award nominees. Their votes acknowledge the
Finalists’ success in attaining the award’s stringent criteria of
quality.

“It is a tremendous honor that our Color IQ™ technology has
been recognized by the Edison Awards judges as innovative and
inspirational,” said Seth Coe-Sullivan, co-Founder and chief
technical officer of QD Vision. “Our team worked hard to deliver the
first commercially-viable quantum dot solution to the display market, where our
products are boosting color performance and reducing energy consumption every
day.”

At the Edison Awards Annual Gala on April 23, 2015 in the historic Ballroom
of The Capitale in New York City, the award winners will be announced.

Philips Horticulture LED Solutions Introduces New GreenPower LED Production ModuleLIGHTimes News Staff

February 19, 2015...Philips Horticulture LED Solutions launched a new, 25% more efficient
GreenPower LED production module. The module is for multilayer plant and indoor
crop growth applications. Philips says that the new solution is especially
beneficial for the propagating young plants and for vertical city farms.
Philips claims that the new GreenPower LED module provides significantly more
control and offers improved and uniform crop quality and energy savings of up
to 75 per cent compared to fluorescent lighting. The company also notes that
the energy-efficient LEDs give off less heat and create a more uniform light
distribution, making the module perfect for air-conditioned environments.

Consuming just 23 W, the GreenPower production module produces the same 50
micromol output as its 32-watt-consuming predecessor. Additionally, Philips
says it reduces energy costs by up to 75 per cent compared to fluorescent
lamps. The company has developed several spectral versions of the GreenPower
LED production module. The different colors versions of the modules meet
different growing requirements.

Growers can specify the best ‘light recipe’ for any given plant
or crop. Or can experiment to create their own. Light recipes include dedicated
combinations of intensity, spectrum, lighting initiation, uniformity and
positioning. These light recipes make it possible to enhance certain plant
traits including compactness, color intensity and branch development to produce
an optimal crop yield and quality.

Many full-scale commercial applications have successfully employed the
GreenPower LED production module, including leafy plants in Japan, lettuce
plant propagation in the Netherlands, and multiple crops in the USA. Use of the
LED modules in these commercial applications has reportedly resulted in
significant increases in yield and quality. The GreenPower LED production
module can be used to supplement natural daylight, as a new installation, or as
a replacement for fluorescent lamps. Thanks to its significantly lower heat
radiation, it can also be used in greenhouses and in air-conditioned
environments, which are not suited to conventional lighting.

February 19, 2015...Sarpy County and the Omaha Storm Chasers, a minor league baseball team of
Omaha, Nebraska, have chosen Daktronics to design, manufacture, and install a
new LED video display for Werner Park in Omaha. The Storm Chasers will be the
first Minor League team in 2015 to get a new display that features a 13HD pixel
layout.

"We are excited to be investing in our new state-of-the-art video board
from Daktronics. To be able to deliver this on the heels of Back-to-Back
Triple-A National Championships, and leading into the First National Bank 2015
All Star Game this July, is fantastic," said Gary Green, owner and CEO for
the Omaha Storm Chasers. "Werner Park will continue to be viewed as a
premier venue and we are looking forward to our fans enjoying their in-game
experience even more thanks to Daktronics!"

The Storm Chasers will be one the first teams in the minor leagues to
receive a new display in 2015 that will feature a 13HD pixel layout. The
display from the Brookings, South Dakota-based company will have a 50% greater
surface area than the previous display. It will measure about 25 feet high by
45.5 feet wide. According to Daktronics, the new display, which can withstand
harsh outdoor conditions, will feature wide angle visibility that can be seen
from any stadium seat, and it will deliver excellent image contrast and
clarity. Variable content zoning allows the display to show one large image
spanning the entire display or it can also be separated into multiple zones to
enable any combination of live video, sponsor messages, animations and
graphics, instant replays, scoring information and statistics.

"Daktronics is excited to partner with the Omaha Storm Chasers and Sarpy
County on this exciting new video display upgrade for Werner Park," said
Matt Warnke, Daktronics sales representative. "This new display will
provide fans unbelievable image quality while offering the Storm Chasers great
flexibility in how they promote their partners as well as adding to an already
exciting game-day atmosphere."

The Omaha Storm Chasers are Back-to-Back Triple-A National Champions, and
Pacific Coast League Champions for three of the last four seasons. The Storm
Chasers are the longest running Triple-A affiliate with Kansas City Royals
dating back to 1969. Since its 2011 opening, more than 1.8 million fans have
passed through the gates for Storm Chasers games and community events at Werner
Park.

You could own this space...
For information on our plans and to reserve promotion space contactSend us an emailor call +1 (512) 257-9888

Sponsored
Links

Looking
for news on LEDs in general lighting?Solid State Lighting Design is the place to
be! If your interest is the higher level view of LED lighting in and around
the built environment, SSL Design brings you the latest on applications,
luminaires/fixtures, light-engines and their components.Check it
out today...

If
you aren't signed up for the Email News Dispatch, you're having to find the news rather than it finding you!Sign up now

All site format, content and technology copyright
2001-2013 by CompoundSemi Online, Inc.Subject to recognized fair use copyright standards,
reproduction in whole or part, by other than authorized clients, is prohibited.
Commercial search engines are authorized for all site links. Links for
any other commercial purpose are limited to the home and events pages
unless you are a client of Solid State Lighting Net or CompoundSemi Online,
Inc. Static links to news articles,
suitable for search engines and newsfeeds (attribution required for use
in news feeds), can be found at http://www.solidstatelighting.net/lightimes/searcharchive/.